The games console first went on sale in March 2000 in Japan and has since sold then more than 150 million units worldwide, and still holds the record for the best-selling home console of all time.

Approximately 11,000 games are thought to have been made for the console over its 12-year lifespan.

PlayStation 2’s wide use is also thought to have been aided the popularity of DVDs as it was one of the cheapest DVD-compatible machines on the market in its early years.

PS2 popularity saw it outsell the PlayStation 3 for the first three years that it was available.

Japanese gaming and entertainment site Famitsu reports that Sony has told the nation's retailers that it will not deliver any more PS2s for sales in stores. Once current stock is sold no more will arrive.

By ending production, Sony has heated rumours that it is putting manufacturing resources towards its successor to the PlayStation 3.

Although the console maker is ending production in Japan PS2 games will still be production. Another instalment of the Final Fantasy series, Seekers of Adoulin, is due to be released in March 2013, for instance.

Sony has not confirmed whether it will stop production of the system for other territories.

Despite rumours that it will unveil the PS4 in mid-2013, the company has not given any official details of the hardware nor when it might be released. Development kits are rumoured to be in developers’ hands already, however, and a 2013 reveale is fully expected.

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